Sweet faced daffodils and perfect pink tulips from the garden / Brown rice + soy milk + a sprinkling of yum for breakfast. And a cup of tea. / Every day dance parties / Carrot cake on pretty plates + newspaper wrapping and handmade cards. Because it’s the thought that counts. Because what’s important is showing someone you love them, as best you can. / Almonds + seeds + cranberries. In cakes. For snacks by the handful. On brown rice for breakfast. / More of my Mothers casual wisdom, handwritten by me 1 + 2 / This little love will be 3 so soon. Time’s flown.

Running away from home to stroll streets in Dunedin for a weekend / Little helper hands mixing carrot cake / Theo at the kitchen window / Stealing 5 minutes peace in the afternoon sun. Can we all just agree to add an extra day to the week dedicated solely to reading? / Tulips blooming in the garden / Cardigan dying 1 + 2 – cross your fingers for me / Lavender for borders and bees / And wonderful news! Dear friends are engaged. So begins a series of parties to celebrate, each more elaborate than the last.

Kings Seeds / Homemade hummus every week / Hiding on the trampoline / Hummus fixin’s for little hands / A page of hand lettering every night. ‘You have to live until then’, just some casual wisdom imparted by my Mother, drawn by me / Alphabet couch / Always drawing, belly down on the living room floor / My Grandmothers collection of miniature teapots. There’s 127 of them. They’ve moved with me 7 times in the last 10 years. They’ve been packed away for the last 3 years; trying to keep them from Earthquakes; from tiny hands. Here they are after a bath. Preparing to have a cabinet made, finally / Thrifted: Floral sheets. I’m going to make these into a little tent and hang it in the garden to have tiny tea parties in.

Warding off end of Winter sneezes and sore throats with lemon and ginger in tea and in cakes. / ‘Where’s the….nevermind’. / Jessie learns to skateboard. She’s terribly adventurous. / At our local park, looking so little. / More and more Magnolias. / And signs of Spring. From the garden 1 + 2 / A kitchen corner. / She chooses her own outfits. Down to the socks.

Baking day 1 + 2 + 3 / Afternoon walks in her favourite shoes; always on the wrong feet. / Oh, hello to you! The bulbs I planted in April, arriving just before Spring. So cheerful. / Quilts, embroidery, and a well stickered sewing box. / My stylist making some last-minute adjustments to my outfit. Or trying to get at all the Lego that he keeps in my handbag. / Sitting on the back deck, waiting for Summer. / Knitting, knitting, knitting.